Mike Rowe

Dr Michael Rowe is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Environment, Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, and Chair of the School of Environment Postgraduate Committee. Both his BSc (Washington State University) and PhD (Oregon State University) were in Geology. Dr Rowe’s research is in geochemistry and mineralogy, igneous petrology, and volcanology.  Broad interests include the cycling of magmatic volatiles and volatile metals from the mantle to the surface, and into hydrothermal systems, and the processes relating magma generation and evolution to tectonic settings, such as continental rifts and subduction zones.  He specialises in x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and in situ geochemical techniques (including electron microprobe analysis, laser ablation ICP-MS, and secondary ion mass spectrometry) to measure spatial changes in the chemical compositions of geologic materials. Recent work has focused on the characterization of amorphous and partially crystalline materials in volcanic and hydrothermal settings as potential analogues for other planetary systems associated with the early development of life.